Telephone channel personalization

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to systems and methods of personalizing a self-service option for customers. Customers are identified at call inception and the self-service channel is personalized to tailor the caller experience based upon information specific to each customer. The systems and methods of telephone channel personalization is company/provider driven, which allows the provider to control and personalize the caller experience based on criteria set by the provider. The telephone channel personalization systems and methods determine what choices to present to the caller (i.e., in a speech self-service application—what to say and how to say it). A personalized self-service channel reduces call time and enhances the caller experience and therefore is an attractive option for businesses utilizing a call-center model. The personalized self-service application caters to the needs of a particular customer and appears to the customer that the provider knows why they are calling.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The subject matter disclosed herein claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) to Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/776,011,filed Dec. 29, 2005, and is a Continuation of Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 11/617,174, filed Dec. 28, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No.8,265,261, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

This application is related by subject matter to the inventionsdisclosed in the following commonly assigned applications: U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/776,012, filed Dec. 29, 2005; U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/776,013, filed Dec. 29, 2005; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/617,271, filed Dec. 28, 2006; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/617,225, filed Dec. 28, 2006; all of which areherein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNOLOGY FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates generally to telephonechannel systems, and in particular to personalized self-servicetelephone channel systems and methods for improving call efficienciesand caller satisfaction. This technology is particularly suited, but byno means limited, for use by businesses in the financial servicesindustry.

BACKGROUND

A majority of call center costs are a direct result of salary andbenefits paid to employees. In an effort to reduce costs and increaseoverall operation of call centers, improved efficiency is a necessity.The big push for today's call centers is “operational capacity,” thatis, moving calls from a live agent into a self-service channel. Thismigration demands optimized self-service applications and must stillresult in a very satisfying caller experience. By improving a callcenters “operational capacity,” operational costs associated withemployee salary and benefits can be greatly reduced.

Customers calling into companies having automated call centers aretypically directed to standard speech recognition applications and henceall customers hear the same call flows and options. This model isinefficient in that a customer must listen to all the standard callflows and options even if the particular customer does not have or useeach of the standard call flows and options. This results in increasedcall durations, which leads directly to increased costs per call. Theuse of standard call flows and options also waste other resources of thefinancial services company having the call center as well as wasting thetime of the customer. Standard call flows and options are alsoimpersonal to the caller and hence caller satisfaction is reduced. As aresult, callers tend to disfavor automated call centers and prefer tospeak in person to a live call center service representative. Thisdefeats the purpose and benefits of automated call centers and resultsin increased costs for the company operating the call center.

One way companies attempt to streamline use of automated call centers isby having numerous de-centralized access numbers—basically, a differentaccess number for each of the financial services company's differentresources. By assigning different access numbers for each product orservice covered by the call center, telephone calls received can bedirectly connected to the appropriate service person. While helping tostreamline calls, this approach is difficult to manage and burdensomefor customers. The financial institute must employ, advertise, and payfor multiple access numbers. Also, most customers have difficultyremembering multiple access numbers. Also, if a customer dials the wrongnumber, then the customer hears the wrong call flows/options and mustdefault to a live call center service representative thus defeating thepurpose and benefits of an automated call center.

Another way companies try and streamline use of automated call centersis through customer customization. Customer customization is where thecustomer sets preferences or defaults that then dictate the callexperience. In this type of customized call system, the customer callsin and then customizes his or her experience for that call, and possiblyfuture calls. This customized call center is customer driven andrequires additional time and effort on the part of the customer. Hence,not all customers take advantage of this type of system.

Touch-tone voice recognition systems have been used for self-servicetelephone applications. In this type of system, the caller listens to amenu list of options and enters the appropriate selection by pushing akey on the dial corresponding to the desired menu choice. Withconventional land-based telephones, these touch-tone applications worksatisfactorily and have a relatively high accuracy rate. However, withthe transition to cellular telephone, these conventional touch-toneapplications are not practical and do not work as well. The reason forthis is that with land-based telephones the receiver is at the ear andthe hand of the caller can be on the dials to respond to the audioprompts being received via the telephone receiver. With cellulartelephones, however, the receiver and dials are both on the cellularphone that therefore the caller must constantly move the cellular phonefrom the ear to a hand position in front of the caller to enter theappropriate response on the dials. This is inefficient and leads tocaller errors in entering the correct key on the dials, reduced accuracyrates, and recalls.

What is needed is an automated self-service channel that solves theforegoing problems associated with conventional telephone channels andcall centers.

SUMMARY

In view of the above shortcomings and drawbacks, systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media for telephone channel personalization areprovided. The caller is identified at call inception to personalize thecall flows and options for the customer allowing the caller experienceto be and tailoring based upon one or more factors specific to theindividual customer. This level of personalization would optimize andgreatly enhance the caller experience, shorten call duration, and lessenthe number of “opt out to operators” selections—leading to reductions inrequired personnel staffing and resulting cost savings.

A customer identifier used to identify the caller can include, forexample, an Automatic Number Identifier (ANI), an account number, amember number, caller-identifying information, and the like.

Telephone channel personalization is company/provider driven, whichallows the provider to control and personalize the caller experiencebased on criteria set by the provider. All that is needed is a calleridentifier and the systems and methods of the present invention allowthe provider to personalize the caller experience based on customerinformation. Telephone channel personalization provides for dynamicbuilding of prompts personalized to a particular customer based on acustomer profile automatically built from customer information accessedusing a customer identifier obtained at call inception. This providesadvantages over caller driven customized call systems in that, forexample, no action is required by the caller.

A personalized self-service channel that reduces call time and enhancesthe caller experience is an attractive option for businesses utilizing acall-center model. This benefit is especially true of companies, such asfinancial services companies, having a wide array of products/servicesbecause the wider the array of products and services the greater thebenefit to customers. Without call channel personalization, the callflows and prompts for a company offering a broad spectrum ofproducts/services would be relatively long and inefficient if standardmenus were used.

In one exemplary embodiment, a personalized self-service channelincludes a call center system interface for receiving a call. A serverin communication with the interface authenticates an identity of thecustomer making the call based on a customer identifier associated withthe call. The system includes a database for storing customerinformation. The system uses the identifier as a key to access thecustomer information in the database specific to the customer making thecall. A customer profile is built from the accessed customerinformation. Menu options are dynamically selected based on the customerprofile and selected menu options are presented as personalized promptsto the customer.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the personalizedtelephone channel includes a business rules engine that invokes a set ofbusiness rules to analyze the customer information in the customerprofile and also determines a content to play in the personalizedprompts. The set of business rules are preferably determined by aprovider of the personalized self-service channel. The set of businessrules can also be used to determine an order of play of the personalizedprompts based on the customer profile. Preferably, the business rulesengine further includes rules-based personalization based on one or moreof: logic constructs; and static constructs.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a prompt processorcan be included for fulfillment of the selected menu options. In oneembodiment, the personalized prompts can include: prompts built intextual form to be played to the customer; and a text-to-speech toengine for playing the personalized prompts to the customer. Thetext-to-speech engine may include a text-to-speech voice personacomprising a synthesized voice.

In another embodiment, the personalized prompts include concatenatedpre-recorded words. An audio library can be provided having recordingsof all words that could be selected as audio options for thepersonalized prompts. In this embodiment, the prompt processorconcatenates the selected menu options into a complete sentence to beplayed as the personalized prompts to the customer. The recordings ofall words that could be selected as audio options can include one ormore of; up-prosody to be said at a beginning of a sentence,equity-prosody to be said at a middle of a sentence; and down-prosody tobe said at an end of a sentence.

In yet another embodiment, the personalized prompts can includepre-recorded prompts. An audio library can be provided having recordingsof the pre-defined prompts. The prompt processor selects the pre-definedprompts corresponding to the selected menu options from the audiolibrary of pre-defined prompts to be played as the personalized promptsto the customer. The recordings of pre-defined prompts can includeprompts recorded by a mainstream speech persona.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the personalizedself-service channel includes a call center. Preferably, the call centercomprises both automated call handling and live customer servicerepresentative call handling.

Customer information can include one or more of: customer personalinformation (e.g., customer name; an address; a phone number; a membernumber; an account number; a PIN; a password; etc.); customer callhistory; customer products; customer services; customer pending claims;customer pending applications; customer assets; and the like.

In accordance with another aspect of the personalized self-servicechannel, the self-service channel further comprises a speechself-service application. In another embodiment, the self-servicechannel further comprises art interactive voice response self-serviceapplication.

In accordance with another aspect of the personalized self-servicechannel, the self-service channel further comprises a single accesstelephone number and a plurality of lines of business comprisingproducts and services. In one embodiment, selected menu options caninclude a first level of products and/or services serviced by a callcenter. Preferably, the first level of products and/or services includesat least one module representing a line of business, wherein the atleast one module further comprises at least one financial servicessector. The at least one financial services sector can include one of:insurance, banking, financial planning, security, brokerage,investments, pre-approvals, caller contact preferences, caller history,marketing campaigns, and the like.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the personalizedself-service channel includes a second level personalized menu optiondynamically selected under the personalized menu options based on theselected first level menu option and the customer profile. Preferably,the customer profile is shared across all modules serviced by the callcenter. Preferably, repetitive parts of a call are automaticallycaptured and shared across all modules. Channel integration is alsopreferably provided to ensure customer receives consistent informationacross all products and services.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an incentivesprogram is provided to drive customers to use the self-service channel.Preferably, financial incentives are awarded to customers for use of thepersonalized self-service channel.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the customer profileis developed using business rules having criteria set by a provider ofthe personalized self-service channel, and no action is required by thecustomer to build the customer profile. A template can be developed withall possibilities for products and services for the customer. A wizardhaving a business rule engine can be used to analyze customerinformation in the template, access individual pieces of audiorecordings, and dynamically build prompts from the individual pieces ofaudio recordings.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be madeapparent from the following detailed description of illustrativeembodiments that proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in connection with the accompanying drawing. Included in thedrawings are the following Figures that show various exemplaryembodiments and various features of the present invention:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary process for telephone channelpersonalization;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary process for self-service speechtelephone channel personalization;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary template that can be populated from customerinformation;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary call flow for a bank speech module;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary call center and call center domains;

FIG. 6A shows an exemplary regional-centric call center system;

FIG. 6B shows an exemplary centralized call center system;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary computing environment on which an exampleembodiment of systems and methods of self-service telephone channelpersonalization may be implemented; and

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary process for implementing an incentive program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to systems and methods to personalizethe call flows and options for customers and members (hereinafter“customers”) by identifying the caller at call inception (ANI, callerID, caller input, etc.) and tailoring the caller experience based uponone or more factors, including but not limited to products owned by thecustomer, the customer data profile, recent solicits, recentpre-approvals, current product status, short-term and/or long-termcaller history, other caller characteristics or behaviors, and the like.This level of personalization would optimize and greatly enhance thecaller experience, shorten call duration, and lessen the number of “optout to operators” selections—leading to reductions in required personnelstaffing and resulting cost savings.

The systems and methods of telephone channel personalization iscompany/provider driven, which allows the provider to control andpersonalize the caller experience based on criteria set by the provider.All that is needed is a caller identifier and the systems and methods ofthe present invention allow the provider to personalize the callerexperience based on customer information. This provides advantages overcaller driven customized call systems in that, for example, no action isrequired by the caller.

The telephone channel personalization systems and methods determine whatchoices to present to the caller. For example, in a speech system—whatto say. The systems and methods also determine how to present theprompts to the caller. For example, in a speech system—how to say it.The systems and methods provide for dynamic building of promptspersonalized to a particular customer based on a customer profileautomatically built from customer information accessed using a customeridentifier obtained at call inception.

A personalized self-service channel that reduces call time and enhancesthe caller experience is an attractive option for businesses utilizing acall-center model. This benefit is especially true of companies, such asfinancial services companies, having a wide array of products/servicesbecause the wider the array of products and services the greater thebenefit to customers. Without call channel personalization, the callflows and prompts for a company offering a broad spectrum ofproducts/services would be relatively long and inefficient if standardmenus were used.

The personalized call flows and prompts offered by the present inventionprovides a system having a more shallow (shorter) call flow andprompting tree that is personalized to include only the caller'sproducts and services. Personal call flows and prompts including onlythose products/services associated with the caller are more efficientthan the use of standard flows and prompts that include all of theproducts/services offered by the company. The personalized self-serviceapplication caters to the needs of the customer and appears to thecustomer that the provider knows why they are calling.

Preferably the telephone channel personalization system includes aminimum number of call-in or access numbers. For example, for anenterprise company (i.e., a company comprising multiple lines ofbusiness) or a company having line of business domain (i.e., the bankingdomain) with multiple departments, it is advantages for the company, andalso for the customer, to minimize the number of access numbers toreduce costs and help customers remember the numbers. In this regard, itis preferred that a single call-in or access number be used to accessmultiple lines of business or multiple departments.

The personalized self-service channel provides a solution to customerresistance to automated call systems. This allows companies to improve“operational capacity” and realize the cost savings associated withmoving calls from live agents to self-service channels.

One of the ways a company having a call center can better serve itscustomers is through a self service, speech recognition telephoneprompting system. Preferably, the stimulus that causes an instance ofthis use case to be created is when a customer calls an all-inclusivecentralized access number to financial services company resources. Theall-inclusive centralized access number allows the customer to call asingle number for all customer needs. Once a customer has dialed thecentralized access number, the personalized self-service channel canauthenticate the caller and the background system can collect allnecessary product, status, and profile information about the customer.The system presents choices to the customer that it thinks the customerwants to hear based on the customer profile. The customer can completehis or her transaction in the self-service speech environment orpreferably can be properly directed to a call center servicerepresentative for further assistance.

In addition, the call center can include a touch-tone prompting system.The touch-tone prompting system can be used in conjunction with or inlieu of a speech application. In a system having both speech andtouch-tone applications, the system preferably only reverts totouch-tone if the speech is not recognized—such as might occur in anoisy environment.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 10 forself-service telephone channel personalization. As shown in FIG. 1, theprocess 10 begins with top level prompter, such as awelcome/authentication prompt to the caller (step 12) when the customerhas phoned into the call center. Preferably, the caller is identified assoon as possible in the call process so that the next step in theprocess can be commenced. This can be accomplished by, for example,obtaining a piece of personal/identifying information from the call orcaller.

Once the caller is identified, the personalization process begins withthe gathering of the appropriate information specific to that caller(step 14). A profile for the caller is built, for example, by populatinga template based on the caller identity, products/services for thecustomer, caller history, etc. (step 16). The personalization of thecall is accomplished, at least in part, through a dynamic building ofthe caller profile.

Appropriate business rules are invoked to analyze the caller profilebuilt from the information in the template and to determine thepersonalized flows and options, including the specific content for theprompts for that particular caller (step 18). The personalized promptsand menu options are generated and prepared for playing to the customer(step 20). Creating a personalized or customized menu based on thepersonal profile provides a more personal call experience and improvescaller satisfaction, reduces call duration, and helps drives callers toa self-service channel helping to reduce costs.

The selected prompts and menu options are presented to the caller (step22). Preferably, the prompts and menu options are presented to thecaller in priority order as determined by the business rules. Forexample, the system would state the first option and each subsequentoption until the options list has been exhausted. Preferably, the callerwould be allowed to barge in when the appropriate prompt option isrecognized. Preferably, the last option in the list is an opt-out optionto allow the caller to exit the personalized call flows and prompts.

In a speech system, the caller states an option that is received by thesystem (step 24). In response, the system may present sub-options underthe selected option (step 26). The system/process may include one ormore sub-options under any given primary and/or previously selectedsub-option and the caller can navigate through the presentedsub-options. If there are no sub-options, the call may be completed ormay be route to the appropriate customer service representative forfurther assistance (step 28).

FIG. 2 shows additional details of a speech recognition personalizationprocess 30 for telephone channel personalization. As shown in FIG. 2,the caller is presented a welcome message (step 32). Identification andauthentication of the caller is performed (step 34). Duringauthentication the appropriate information is obtained to prepare forthe caller information search.

Preferably, an identifier is obtained from the caller and is used as thetrigger to commence the personalization of the call channel. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2 a member number or PIN can be obtained andused as an identifier. The identifier can be used as a key to access theappropriate databases and find the appropriate customer informationenabling more detailed and precise customer service to be achieved.Because databases may be architected using different keys, one or moreidentifiers may be obtain and used as a key. The identifier may beprovided by the caller or automatically generated and transmitted aspart of the call. For example, the identifier may include: a customernumber, a member number, an account number, a password, a personalidentification number (PIN), a name, an address, a phone number, a dateof birth, a maiden name, other family name, a social security number(SSN), the caller's number—Automatic Number Identification (ANI), CallerID, and the like.

The next step in the personalization process 30 is information gathering(step 36). One or more keys obtained during authentication are used toaccess and find customer information in one or more information sources.As shown in FIG. 2, a member number can be used as a key to access andfind customer information in one or more information sources, such asdatabases.

As shown, exemplary information databases can include: CorporateCustomer Information File (CCIF); member profile data; productsowned/status; contact history (telephone inquiries, company web-sitelog-ins, received mail; marketing campaigns; pre-approvals; pendingapplications; Customer Account Decline (CAD) codes, e.g., deceased,bankruptcy, delinquent, etc.; open accident claim; active stock trader;and the like.

Once the appropriate customer information has been gathered, a templateis populated using the customer information (step 38). FIG. 3 shows anexemplary template 50. The information in the template 50 can include,for example, customer personal information 51, CAD codes 52, callinformation 53 (call origination, call designation, etc.), products 54(banking, investments, P&C, Life, FPS, ASC, etc.), pre-approvals 55,contact preferences 56, marketing campaigns 57, trading history 58, openclaims 59, and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the personalization process 30 continues, atstep 40, with the determination, selection, and prioritization ofpersonalized call prompts. Business rules are invoked to analyze allinformation in the populated template. The business rules are used todetermine the appropriate content to play in the return prompt to thecustomer. For example, this process could determine what departments thecaller might want to talk to, what products the customer typically callsfor self-service, how often the caller calls, if the caller is a“select” customer, etc. After the caller information is compiled andanalyzed, the rules-based engine determines what content to respondwith. These decisions would then be sent to the prompt processor forfulfillment.

The business rules guide the prompt option selection and order of play.In one embodiment, rules-based personalization can use logicalconstructs and marketing (i.e., if the customer has a bank savingsaccount, should the caller be offered the ability to acquire a creditcard?) for prompt selection. Static constructs can also be usedincluding, for example, current products and services owned, callerhistory, pending open applications, pending claims, etc. The businessrules can also be used to determine the priority for the prompt optionselection and playback. For example, open and pending activities may beplaced at a higher priority than high volume caller history. Informationin the caller's personal profile, such as age, sex, marital status,children, military/non-military, etc. may also determine promptselection. The business rules can be used to determine in priorityorder—what is most important to offer the caller. Preferably, an “otherservice” option is presented to the caller at the end of the promptselection. The “other services” final option in the prompt is meant tocatch errors in assumed caller intent.

Using information from the business rules engine, prompts are played tothe customer (step 42). Prompts in a self-service speech applicationcould be played in a number of ways, including: using text-to-speech toplay a prompt using computer voicing to express the desired options;concatenate separate pre-recorded snipets of products and departments to“build” the appropriate response; select an entire pre-recorded promptcontaining all appropriate responses; etc. FIG. 2 shows an exemplaryself-service speech application that asks the caller to state the optionthat he or she desires when he or she hears it and that then plays theselected prompts to the caller.

In an embodiment that uses text-to-speech to play the prompts, thebusiness rules engine builds a textual form of the prompt to be played.This text is forwarded to the text-to-speech engine for play to thecaller. This form of persona usually lacks elegance in pronunciation,articulation, cadence, and prosody. The text-to-speech voice persona isa synthesized voice and does not usually match the persona in the mainstream speech application.

In an embodiment that uses concatenated pre-recorded words, an audiolibrary can be built containing recordings of all words that could beselected as audio options. Preferably, these words are recorded usingseveral prosodies, e.g., down-prosody to be said at the end of asentence, equity-prosody in the middle of a sentence, up-prosody as aquestion, etc. The audio components can be recorded by the mainstreamspeech persona to keep the application consistent and to deliver apleasing caller experience. The business rules engine selects theappropriate options from the audio library. An example is provided belowfor a caller having a credit card, stock trade, and life annuity:

Audio Library (example subset): 091 Credit Card 027 Mortgage 017 AutoIns. 623 Life Annuity 211 Savings Acc. 981 Stock Trade 224 Boat Ins. 502Property Ins. 005 Checking Acc. 554 Consumer 884 Wire 419 Rental CarLoan Transfers 446 Auto Claims 391 Auto Loan 618 Life Ins. 743 StockQuote

The selected prompts (as indicated in bold above) are then concatenatedinto a complete sentence and played to the caller. The caller then hearsa personalized prompt: “When you hear the service you want, just say it. . . Credit Card, Stock Trade, Life Annuity, or Other Services.”

In an embodiment having pre-recorded prompts, an audio library is builtcontaining recordings of all possible prompts based upon use cases andbusiness requirements. All audio prompts can be recorded by themainstream speech persona to keep the application consistent and todeliver a pleasing caller experience. The Business Rules engine selectsthe appropriate prompt from the audio library. Using the same exemplarycaller as above having a credit card, stock trade, and life annuity:

Audio Library (example subset):

017 Credit Card, Savings Account, Consumer Loan, or Other Services

181 Credit Card, Wire Transfers, Auto Insurance, or Other Services

482 Credit Card, Homeowners Insurance, Stock Quote, or Other Services

228 Credit Card, Stock Trade, Life Annuity, or Other Services

334 Credit Card, Mortgage, Auto Claim, or Other Services

The appropriate pre-recorded prompt (as indicated in bold above) isselected. The caller then hears a personalized prompt: “When you hearthe service you want, just say it . . . Credit Card, Stock Trade, LifeAnnuity, or Other Services.”

Working Examples:

Scenario 1:

Stereotype: Bob is an active duty First Sergeant in the U.S. MarineCorps. He is married with two children, has two Company-x insuredvehicles, and has no current pending claims. Bob has a Company-x creditcard and would like to inquire about the account balance on the creditcard.

-   -   1. The use case begins when Bob has phoned the central access        number, has been authenticated, and customer information about        his duty status, wife, children, insurance coverage, and credit        card has been collected from associated systems. The customer        information can be stored in a central database or a plurality        of remote databases.    -   2. The system determines that since Bob has no pending claims        and has a credit card that the best menu option to suit Bob's        self-service needs is menu 1.        -   2.1. Menu 1 contains, for example, sub-options for Company-x            credit card and auto policy service.    -   3. The system presents the menu options to the caller by stating        “When you hear the service you want, just say it.”        -   3.1. The system states “Company-x credit card;”        -   3.2. The system states “auto policy service;”        -   3.3. The system states “Other Services.”    -   4. Since Bob is calling, in this example, regarding his credit        card, Bob states “Company-x credit card.”    -   5. Referring to FIG. 4, the system navigates to the bank speech        application 60 and enters the application at the Credit Card        module 61. The system verifies the caller has been        authenticated, then may state a pro-active menu of most common        items 62, for example:        -   5.1 “Okay Credit Card,”        -   5.2 “Your current balance is $437.32,”        -   5.3 “Your last statement date was Apr. 12, 2005 in the            amount of $893.41,”        -   5.4 “Your last payment was received on April 28th in the            amount of 893.41,”        -   5.5 “Your next minimum amount due is $21.16 on the 12th of            May.”    -   6. The system may then states the takes the caller to the Credit        Card Main Menu 63 to offer other self-service options, such as        for example:        -   6.1. “MAIN MENU, You can say:”        -   6.2. “Balance,”        -   6.3. “Recent Activity,”        -   6.4. “Make a payment,”        -   6.5. “Report a lost card,”        -   6.7. “Other Services,”

As can be seen in FIG. 4, each sub-option under a selected line ofbusiness vertical (module or silo) can include one or more additionalsub-options. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 under other services option64, additional sub-options 65 can be provided.

-   -   7. If the caller were to select the “make a payment” option, the        system could ask the caller if they would like to transfer funds        from, for example:        -   7.1 “transfer funds from checking account”        -   7.2 “transfer funds from savings account”        -   7.3 “transfer funds from another account”    -   8. If the caller selects the “transfer funds from checking        account” option, the system can ask the caller the amount that        the customer would like to pay, such as for example,        -   8.1 “pay-off outstanding balance”        -   8.2 “pay minimum amount due”        -   8.3 “pay other amount”    -   9. If the caller selects the “pay-off existing balance,” then        the system can ask the customer to verify the transaction, for        example:        -   9.1 “please confirm transfer of funds in the amount of            $437.32 from checking account to credit card account to            pay-off existing balance of $437.32.    -   10. The system would initiate the process for completing the        transaction.    -   11. The scenario ends.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the personalized telephone channel caninclude one or more layers or levels of personalization. For example, inthe first level, the system identifies the modules (or verticals orsilos) that the customer may be interested in based on the populatedtemplate of customer information (i.e., banking, investments, P&C, life,FPS, etc.). Once the caller makes a first selection (i.e., banking), asecond level of personalization can occur based upon the selected moduleand the populated template of customer information. After the callermakes a second selection (i.e., credit card), a third level ofpersonalization can occur based upon the selected sub-module and thepopulated template of customer information. When the caller makes athird selection (i.e., other services), a fourth level ofpersonalization can occur based upon the selected sub-module and thepopulated template of customer information. For example, based on callerhistory, the system may present a fifth lever of personalization inwhich the caller is presented with the choices “change PIN” or “otherservices.”

Scenario 2:

Stereotype: Jane is the spouse of Steve, an active duty Captain in theU.S. Army. Steve is deployed to Korea for one year and they have onesmall child. They live in an apartment and carry Company-x renter'sinsurance. In addition, they carry Company-x auto insurance and Janerecently had an automobile accident. She filed a claim with Company-xand wants to see if her settlement check has been mailed.

-   -   1. The use case begins when Jane has phoned the central access        number, has been authenticated, and information about Jane and        Steve's products, product status, and personal profile has been        collected from associated systems.    -   2. The system determines that since Steve's auto policy has a        pending claim, and Steve also carries renter's insurance, the        menu option for Jane's self-service needs is menu 2.        -   2.1. Menu 2 contains, for example, sub-options for auto            claims, auto policy service, and renter's insurance service.    -   3. The system presents the menu options to the user by stating        “When you hear the service you want, just say it”.        -   3.1. The system states “auto claim,”        -   3.2. The system states “policy service,”        -   3.3. The system states “renter's insurance,”        -   3.4. The system states “other services.”    -   4. Jane states, for example, “auto claim”    -   5. The system states “Please hold while I directly connect you        to your claims handler.”    -   6. The call is routed to the appropriate customer service        representative for further assistance. The scenario ends.

Scenario 3:

The customer has a checking account with Company-x. This is the onlyproduct that the customer currently has with Company-x. The customercalls in to the call center and the caller is identified (either throughcaller input or an identifier transmitted with the call). The customerinformation is gathered and the business rules are invoked to developthe personalized call flows and prompts. In this case the system mayinclude a touch-tone application. The caller is provided with a promptthat instructs the customer to press 1 for checking or press 2 for allother inquires.

The following week the same customer may apply for and receive a creditcard from Company-x. The customer calls in to the call center and thesystem identifies the caller and personalizes the call flows andprompts. Now, the caller is provided with prompts that instructs thecustomer to press 1 for checking, press 2 for credit card, or press 3for all other inquires.

As can be seen from the above exemplary scenarios, personalization isdirected to an individual customer's needs and interests and allowsother products and services to be left out of the flows and optionspresented to the customer during a call. This feature providesdifferentiated services and enhances the caller experience. Preferably,the flows and options include an opt-out option that would take thecaller to a standard menu of flows and options or to a live customerservice representative.

The call center can include and be defined by a distinct domain or acombination of several domains. The definition sometime depends on thepoint of view of the person evaluating the call center—for example,depending on whether the person has an IT or a line of businessbackground may influence how ones describes a call center. As shown inFIG. 5, exemplary call center 70 can include one or more domainsincluding, for example, (1) a hardware components 71 comprising, forexample, telephony switches, computer telephony integration (CTI),Interactive Voice Response (IVR), portal, desktops, etc. (i.e. thehardware and software that route calls to the right place the firsttime); (2) customer service representatives 72 (i.e., the labor force)that service calls at the desktop; (3) self-service applications 73including, for example, web-site interfaces, speech, touch-tone, etc.;and (4) third party vendors 74 including calls transferred out of thecall center to third party vendors; or (5) combinations of the abovedomains. In a preferred embodiment of the telephone channelpersonalization, the call center includes a self-service speechapplication.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show exemplary call center models. FIG. 6A shows aregion-centric call center system 80 a and FIG. 6B shows a centralizedcall center system 80 b. These call center models are provided forillustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe present invention. Either type of system, as well as other types ofcall center models, may be used with the telephone channelpersonalization system of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the region-centric call center system 80 a is adistributed call center system having a plurality of local call centers81. This distributed call center system 80 a enables service that is inclose contact with the region (region-centric). As shown, theregion-centric call center system 80 a includes customer interfacedevices 82, such as, for example a telephone (land-based and/orcellular), that is in communication with a network 83, such as thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, a VoIPnetwork, a satellite network, etc. The network 83 is in communicationwith the call centers 81 through a call center network interface 84.

The call centers 81 includes one or more telecommunication servers 85.The server(s) 85 processes incoming calls and can control, for example:the authentication of callers, the gathering of information, thepopulation of templates, invoking the business rules to analyze theinformation in the templates, determination of prompt content and order,fulfillment of the prompts, playing of prompts, etc. The server 85 caninclude a wizard having a business rule engine that runs the businessrules. The server 85 can access one or more databases 86 storingcustomer information. Call center workstations 87, equipment, andoperators can be placed at each such base.

The call center can include a speech application, an interactive voiceresponse (IVR) application, or a combination of telephony applications,such as shown in FIG. 5. Preferably, in call center systems havingintegrated applications, the system is constructed to select the optimumoperational mode—i.e., speech or IVR—for automated self-service customerinteractions based on a balancing of customer and provider needs.

A speech recognition application provides caller self-service in anautomated telephony solution. Speech recognition technology allows forautomation of the prompt flows and options presented to callers andallows a caller to complete the desired transaction by simply asking forwhat they want. For example, the speech system can state a series ofprompts to the caller and the caller may simply repeat the desiredoption. Speech applications in an automated environment generally allowcalls to be handled in less time that with live agents, therebyshortening call duration, improving caller satisfaction, freeing liveagents to handle more complex, high-value transactions, and the like.Speech applications generally provide higher levels of first callresolutions within the automated application leading to higher customersatisfaction and reduced costs.

The personalized self-service application in accordance with onepreferred embodiment of the present invention helps drive providers andcaller to a speech application. The reasons for this are that theself-service systems and processes of the present invention providepersonalized menus having simplified grammar and less language in theselected menus as compared to standard menus listing all products andservices offered by a company. Instead of the whole menu, thepersonalized telephone channel provides for the selection andpresentation of a couple of items based on the caller and callerprofile. Speech recognition in conjunction personalized telephonechannel allows for the use of both land-based and cellular telephoneswith improved accuracies.

An IVR system is a telephone technology in which a caller uses, forexample, a touch-tone telephone or speech application to interact with acall center to acquire information from or enter data into the databaseassociated with the call center. IVR technology does not require humaninteraction over the telephone as the caller's interaction with the callcenter and database is predetermined by what the IVR system will allowthe caller access to. For example, banks and credit card companies useIVR systems so that their customers can receive current accountinformation without having to speak directly to a customer accountrepresentative. IVR technology can also be used to gather informationfrom and about the caller.

FIG. 6B shows an exemplary centralized call center system 80 b. Acentralized call center system 80 b includes customer interface devices82, such as, for example a telephone, that is in communication with anetwork 83. To provide service to customers in all the based regions, acentralized call center system 80 b typically employs long distancetoll-free dialing. The network 83 is in communication with the callcenter 81 through a call center network interface 84. The call center 81includes one or more servers 85 for processing the incoming call andcontrolling the personalization of the service channel. Handling of thecalls in a centralized system 80 b can be performed by a ComputerTechnology Integration (CTI) system at the call center 81.

The server 85 can access one or more databases 86 storing customerinformation. As shown, information databases 86 a can include: CorporateCustomer Information File (CCIF); member profile data; productsowned/status; contact history (telephone inquiries, company web-sitelog-ins, received mail; marketing campaigns; pre-approvals; pendingapplications; Customer Account Decline (CAD) codes, e.g., deceased,bankruptcy, delinquent, etc.; open accident claim; active stock trader;and the like. Call center workstations, equipment, and operators 87 canbe placed at the centralized call center 81.

It is contemplated that the communications between various componentscan be by various means, such as via hard-wired and/or wireless means.Also, the network can include various types of networks, such as one ormore of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), theInternet, etc. Preferably, voice and/or data information can becommunicated between the various components in the personalizedtelephone channel system.

Preferably, the call center provides for multiple channel contact of thecall center and integrates the various service channels to allowseamless integration of service across all service channels. Forexample, the call center may provide for contact from one or more ofphone, email, web, chat, customer service representatives, etc. The callcenter preferably captures a customer identifier and gathers theappropriate customer information at the time of the initial contact withor point of entry into the call center, regardless of the channel usedto commence the use. In this way, customers do not have to repeatedlyenter personal access information every time they switch channels oraccess a different line of business or service module. Computertelephony integration (CTI) further facilitates seamless integration ofservice across multiple channels resulting in improved call processingtime and customer satisfaction.

FIG. 7 depicts an example computing environment 10 on which an exampleembodiment of a combined account may be implemented. The computingenvironment 100 may include a computer 110, a monitor 191, and otherinput or output devices such as a mouse 161, a keyboard 162, and a modem172. Computers and computing environments such as the computer 110 andthe computing environment 100 are known to those skilled in the art andthus are briefly described here.

An example system for implementing an embodiment includes a generalpurpose computing device in the form of a computer 110. Components ofthe computer 110 may include a central processing unit 120, a systemmemory 130, and a system bus 121 that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory to the processing unit 120.

The system memory 130 may include computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as ROM 131 and RAM 132. A basicinput/output system 133 (BIOS) containing the basic routines that helpto transfer information between elements within computer 110, such asduring start-up, may be stored in ROM 131. RAM 132 typically containsdata and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/orpresently being operated on by central processing unit 120. The systemmemory 130 additionally may include, for example, an operating system134, application programs 135, other program modules 136, and programdata 137.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in the computingenvironment 100 in the form of any of a variety of computer readablemedia. Computer readable media can be any media that can be accessed bycomputer 110, including both volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media.

The computer 110 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer180. The remote computer 180 may be a personal computer, a server, arouter, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, andtypically includes many or all of the elements described above relativeto the computer 110. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 7 includea local area network (LAN) 171 and a wide area network (WAN) 173, butmay also include other networks. Such networking environments may becommon in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 110 may beconnected to the LAN 171 through a network interface 170. When used in aWAN networking environment, the computer 110 may include a modem 172 forestablishing communications over the WAN 173, such as the Internet. Themodem 172 may be connected to the system bus 121 via the user inputinterface 160, or other appropriate mechanism.

A computer 110 or other client device can be deployed as part of acomputer network. In this regard, the present invention pertains to anycomputer system having any number of memory or storage units, and anynumber of applications and processes occurring across any number ofstorage units or volumes. An embodiment of the present invention mayapply to an environment with server computers and client computersdeployed in a network environment, having remote or local storage. Thepresent invention may also apply to a standalone computing device,having programming language functionality, interpretation and executioncapabilities.

An incentive program may be included in an effort to maximizeoperational capacity and drive callers to a speech self-service system.The incentive program may provide one or more of cash back, lower rates,discounts, reduced fees, reduced deductibles, and the like to customersthat participate in the self-service telephone channel personalizationsystem.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary process 200 far implementing an incentiveprogram. As shown, the provider provides notice of the incentive programto the customer (step 202). The provider tracks the customer use ofself-service versus live service representatives (step 204). Thefinancial institute compares the amount of calls made by the customerusing self-service to the amount of calls made by the same customer to alive service representative (step 206). Preferably, the rewards to thecustomer are based on the comparison of the number of self-service callsto the number of calls to live service representatives. Preferably, therewards to the customer increase as the ratio of the number ofself-service calls to the number of calls to live servicerepresentatives increases, and conversely, the rewards to the customerdecrease as the ratio of the number of self-service calls to the numberof calls to live service representatives decreases (step 208). Thisprovides an incentive to the customer to maximize use of thepersonalized self-service telephone channel, thus maximizing operationalcapacity and cost savings to the provider.

While systems and methods have been described and illustrated withreference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art willrecognize that modification and variations may be made without departingfrom the principles described above and set forth in the followingclaims. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims asdescribing the scope of disclosed embodiments.

What is claimed:
 1. A personalized self-service channel, comprising: acall center system interface for receiving a call; a customer identifierassociated with the call; a server in communication with the interfacefor authenticating an identity of a customer making the call based onthe identifier; a database storing customer information; wherein theidentifier is used by the server as a key to access the customerinformation in the database for the customer making the call; a customerprofile built from the accessed customer information; menu optionsdynamically selected by the server based on the customer profile;wherein the selected menu options are presented as personalized promptsto the customer via the call center system interface.
 2. Thepersonalized self-service channel of claim 1, further comprising abusiness rules engine that invokes a set of business rules to analyzethe customer information in the customer profile and determines contentto play in the personalized prompts.
 3. The personalized self-servicechannel of claim 2, further comprising an order of play of thepersonalized prompts determined by the business rules engine based onthe customer profile.
 4. The personalized self-service channel of claim1, further comprising: a prompt processor for fulfillment of theselected menu options, wherein the personalized prompts furthercomprise: prompts built in textual form to be played to the customer;and a text-to-speech to engine for playing the personalized prompts tothe customer.
 5. The personalized self-service channel of claim 1,further comprising a prompt processor for fulfillment of the selectedmenu options, wherein the personalized prompts further comprisepre-recorded prompts.
 6. The personalized self-service channel of claim5, further comprising: an audio library comprising recordings of thepre-defined prompts; wherein the prompt processor selects thepre-defined prompts corresponding to the selected menu options from theaudio library of pre-defined prompts to be played as the personalizedprompts to the customer.
 7. The personalized self-service channel ofclaim 1, wherein the self-service channel further comprises a singleaccess telephone number and a plurality of lines of business comprisingproducts and services.
 8. The personalized self-service channel of claim1, further comprising an incentives program to drive customers to usethe self-service channel, wherein financial incentives are awarded tocustomers for use of the personalized self-service channel.
 9. A methodfor personalizing a self-service telephone channel, comprising:receiving a call from a caller; identifying the caller at a callinception; searching a customer information database based on theidentified caller; building a customer profile using the customerinformation found in the database search; providing a set of businessrules determined by a provider of the personalized self-servicetelephone channel; invoking the set of business rules to analyze thecustomer profile to determine content for personalized call prompts anda priority for the content of the personalized call prompts; andselecting appropriate personalized call prompts to play to the customercaller based on an application of the customer profile to the set ofbusiness rules.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: receivinga selection from the customer caller based on the personalized callprompts; accessing a number of products or services based on thecustomer caller selection; and playing a second tier of personalizedcall prompts related to the number of products or services to thecustomer caller.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step ofselecting further comprises selecting the personalized call prompts froma library of pre-defined call prompts based on the customer profile. 12.The method of claim 9, further comprising determining an order in whichthe personalized call prompts are played to the customer caller based onthe customer profile.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:providing an audio library comprising recordings of all words that couldbe selected as audio options for the personalized call prompts;selecting recording of words for the selected personalized call prompts;concatenating selecting recording of words into the personalized callprompts; and playing the personalized call prompts to the customercaller.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: providing anaudio library comprising recordings of pre-recorded prompts; selectingrecordings of the pre-recorded prompts corresponding to the selectedpersonalized call prompts; and playing the personalized call prompts tothe customer caller.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising instructions stored thereon executable by a processor to:receive a call from a caller; identify the caller as a customer at acall inception; search a customer information database based on theidentified customer; build a customer profile using the customerinformation found in the database search; provide a set of businessrules that provide personalized call prompts for the customer; invokethe set of business rules to analyze the customer to determine contentfor personalized call prompts and a priority for the content of thepersonalized call prompts; and select appropriate personalized callprompts to play to the customer caller based on an application of thecustomer profile to the set of business rules.
 16. The medium of claim15, further comprising computer-readable instructions to: receive aselection from the customer caller based on the personalized callprompts; access a number of products or services based on the customercaller selection; and play a second tier of personalized call promptsrelated to the number of products or services to the customer caller.17. The medium of claim 15, further comprising computer-readableinstructions to: dynamically select individual pieces of appropriatecall prompts; and assemble the individual pieces into the personalizedcall prompts.
 18. The medium of claim 15, further comprisingcomputer-readable instructions to determine an order in which thepersonalized call prompts are played to the customer based on thecustomer profile.